Valve operating means



A ril 15, 1952 D. MAPES 2,592,816

VALVE OPERATING MEANS Filed Dec. 21, 1945 ATTORN FY Patented Apr. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

VALVE OPERATING S Daniel Mapes, West Caldwell, N. 3,, assign'or to Specialties Development Corporation, Bloom-- field, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 21, 1945, .Serial No. 636,352

- 2 Claims.

This invention relates to valves and particularly to improved valve operating mechanism for controlling the discharge of fluid medium under pressure from storage containers.

The improved valve operating mechanism is especially adapted to the control of inflation means for a life raft and the like, which is folded as a pack carried by an aviator while descending with a parachute into water, "and adapted to be inflated by operating a pull cord attached to the valve operating mechanism.

In such apparatus the valve usually of the type in which a valve member is normally seated and sealed in closed position by thepressure of the fluid medium, and in which, upon cracking the valve seal, opening of the valve is expedited.

The present invention aims to provide a valve operating mechanism in which a pull :cord is utilized to pull a valve operating lever or handle. through the intermediary of means on the lever for increasing the effective leverage of the lever, whereby to effect cracking of the valve with a minimum of effort and to render the operation of the valve simpler, easier, faster and less subject to difficult operation caused by unusual conditions or positions of the device or the operator under severe emergencies.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a simple valve operating mechanism of the above-mentioned type, whereby, the valve may be opened easily against very high "fluid pressure.

Another object is to provide novel valve operafing means of simple and durable construction, economical manufacture and efiective opera-tion. Other and, further objects of the invention willbe obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one, skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawing, forming a part of the specification wherein:

Figure 1 is a view, partially in side elevation and partially in section, of a valve embodying the invention, illustrating the parts as gposition'ed whenthe valve is closed.

'Figure'tz is a fragmentary view of thej'valve shown in Figure 1 illustrating certain parts as positioned during the first stage of the valve opening operation.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view illustrating certain parts as positioned when the vaive ,is fully "open, V

Referring to the -drawing, the device 'com- 6 prises a container l for storing a fluid medium under pressure, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or air, and having an outlet I2 in an exteriorly threaded neck ill to which a valve hous-' ing l6 is secured.

The housing forms a valve chamber 18 having a valve seat '28 around an outlet bore 22 communicating with a discharge duct 24 in a'nipple 26 provided with an anti-recoil outlet device .28. A bore portion 30., constituting a continuation of the bore 22 extends through the top of the housing [6 to a p'os'itionbetween a pair of lug portions 32 of the housing.

An apertured plate or washer .34, held by a shoulder 35 of the housing [6 on the top of the neck l4 over the container outlet [2, supports a spring 36 which urges a valve member 38 against the seat 20. The valve member -3'8 has a stem 40 extending into the bore '22 and serving to center the valve member and disposed in end-to-end relation to a "stem 42 on a plunger M slidably mounted in the bore portion 30. The plunger 44 has an outer end 4'6 protruding from the housing, and is provided with an intermediate portion 48 of reduced diameter surrounded by a packingv ring '50 serving to seal the bore portion 30.

A valve operating lever or handle in the form of a bell crank 52, fulcrumed on a pin 54 between the lugs 32, has a short valve actuating arm 58 over the upper end of the housing l6 and a long leveroperating arm 58 normally extending along and close to a side 60 of the housing opposite the outlet device '28. The lever 52 may be constructed of sheet-metal,'channellike in section, the inner surfaces of the side walls of which are disposed farther apart than the diameter of the plunger 44. The short arm 56 has portions of its opposite side walls bent toward each other and extending over the plunger to form plunger engaging means 62.

A second lever 10, also constructed of sheetmetal, channel-like in section, has side walls ll joined by a transverse portion 73 which embrace the lower portion or outer end of the walls of the long arm 58 of the lever 52, and are pivoted to the latter by a pin 12. Each of the side walls ll of the lever 10 has a short arm at one side of its pivot provided with a cam portion for engaging the side 60- of the housing, and has a longer arm or operating portion 16 at the other side of its pivot having an aperture '18 whereby a pull cord 80, having a free end knob 81, is attached to the lever I0.

A wire 82, of aluminum or other material having a seal 84, may be looped around the pull cord and secured to the lever 10 through the apertrue 18, and wrapped around the neck 14, as shown in Figure 1. The wire 82 serves to prevent accidental operation of the levers and to indicate when operation thereof has been efiected, 'but is 0 readily broken by pulling the cord 80 with a preprovided between the normally lowermost portion of the plunger contact means 62 and the top of the plunger 44 to ensure effective seating of the valve member 38 against its seat 20 under tht bias of the spring 36 and the pressure of the fluid medium in the container. Since the distance of the movement of the lever 52 to close the gap T is substantially multiplied at the lower end of the long arm 58, the gap is of substantially minimum height to ensure closing of the valve member 38 and so that, after the gap is closed, and before movement of the plunger 44, the cam portions '14 will still have enough'camming action against the side wall 60 to move the plunger 44 and the valve member 38 a distance suflicient to crack the valve seal and thus balance the fluid pressures above and below the valve member 38 whereby full opening of the valve is facilitated.

In operation, when the cord 80 is pulled to the left as viewed in the drawing, the first effect is to break the wire 82, during which both levers 52 and I tend to move about their pivot points, as shown in Figure 2. After breaking the wire and until the gap T is closed, there is little resistance to the pull. When the gap is closed, as shown in Figure 2, the lever 52 then meets the resistance of the high fluid pressure, at which point, the short arm having the cam portions 14 bears against the side 60 of the housing. Further pull on the cord 80 increases the leverage of the arm 58 at the pivot pin 12 about the pin 54 to crack the valve seal, whereupon, with the valve member 38 partially balanced between its top and 4 said lower arm adjacent the lower end thereof, said pull cord means being adapted to first rock said second lever to cause said cam portion to cooperate with the outer side wall surface of the casing and effect movement of said depending arm of said first lever slightly away from the casing wall whereby said first arm of said first lever effects actuation of the stem to partially unseat the valve member and said pull chord means thereafter being adapted for pulling said second lever away from the casing walltogether with said depending arm of said first lever whereby further unseating of the valve member is effected.

2. In a valve of the class described for a source of fluid medium under pressure including a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports, a valve seat between the ports, a valve member for the valve seat and a stem for unseating the valve member extending through the upper end wall of the easing: the combination of an L-shaped lever fulcrumed on the casing at the upper end thereof, said lever having an arm positioned for engaging and actuating the stem but being normally out of contact therewith and having an elongate depending arm normally positioned adjacent and conforming substantially to an outer side wall surface of the casing and being adapted to be bottom by the fluid pressure, continued pull 7 moves the valve operating parts to the full open positions of Figure 3.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the valve operating mechanism has been swung outwardly therefrom;

clip means attached to said depending arm adjacent its lower end for gripping the valve casing; a second lever pivotally mounted on said depending arm at about the lower end thereof and being normally positioned in substantially longitudinal alignment therewith and being normally positioned against and conforming to the outer side wall surface of the casing, said second lever having an upper arm provided with an arcuate cam portion substantially improved by the extremely simple additional means which is very effective in operation and does not materiallyincrease the cost of the mechanism.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a valve of the class described for a source of fluid medium under pressure including a valve casing having inlet and outlet ports, a valve seat between the ports, a valve member for the valve seat and a stem for unseating the valve member extending through the upper end wall of the easing: the combination of an L-shaped lever fulcrumed on the casing at the upper end thereof, said lever having an arm positioned for engaging and actuating the stem and having an elongate depending arm normally positioned adjacent and conforming substantially to an outer side wall surface of the casing and being adapted at its upper end for engaging the outer side wall surface of the casing and having a lower arm; and pull cord means attached to said lower arm adjacent the lower end thereof, said pull cord means being adapted to first rock said second lever to cause said cam portion to cooperate with the outer side wall surface of the casing and effect movement of said depending arm of said first lever slightly away from the casing wall whereby said first arm of said first lever effects actuation of the stem to partially unseat the valve member and said pull cord means thereafter being adapted for pulling said second lever away from the casing wall together with said depending arm of said first lever whereby further unseating of the valve member is effected.

DANIEL MAPES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 410,764 Moomy Sept. 10, 1889 703,521 Birkery July 1, 1902 1,016,967 Sinsheimer Feb. 13, 1912 1,547,475 Wheaten July 28, 1925 1,872,762 Laurencich Aug. 23, 1932 1,898,899 Rowley Feb. 21, 1933 1,944,770 Svorcina Jan. 23, 1934 1,971,013 Mesinger Aug. 21, 1934 2,205,241 Clark June 18, 1940 2,211,880 Clark Aug. 20, 1940 2,378,924 Honegger June 26, 1945 

